Historic district demolitions eyed to make room for apartments, retail

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - More than 80 apartments would be built on the site of a former Social Security office, and a grocery store building would be replaced with housing and retail, according to plans filed with the city. Those two projects, along with a

in the Heritage Hill district and put up 83 apartments. Two existing carriage houses, which have been deemed to have historic character, will remain part of the 2.3-acre site currently owned by an entity registered to McDonald's franchisee Randell Price. Preliminary plans call for 63 one-bedroom apartments measuring about 575 square-feet, and 20 two-bedroom units around 1,050 square-feet. Proposed on-site parking totals 96 spaces. •

363 State St. SE

Lott3Metz Architecture submitted a request for the commission to determine whether the grocery building near Cherry Street and Madison Avenue SE contributes to the historic character of Heritage Hill, and to hold an advisory discussion on plans to remove the store and redevelop the half-acre site owned by Downtown Grand Rapids Market, Inc. Preliminary plans show a building with four stories along State and three stories along Madison, with commercial space on the ground floor and apartments on the upper floors. •

10 Ionia Ave. NW

Hinman Co. is proposing to build a 40-story building with first-floor commercial space, about 10 hotel floors and about 30 floors of apartments. The property, which is currently a surface parking lot, is part of the Heartside historic district. A hearing on the plan is 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, at the city's Development Center, 1120 Monroe Ave. NW.